KDDI Corp exhibited OLED and LCD panels capable of displaying 3D images on a main display of a mobile phone at CEATEC JAPAN 2008. The company claims that these panels allow users to enjoy video content such as movies and games "with a greater realism," KDDI's demonstrator said.

The OLED panel is a 3.1-inch 800 x 480 (wide VGA) model. It employs Clairvoyante Inc's pixel array dubbed "PenTile." The company is "planning to use the new panel on actual products shortly although the exact timeline cannot be mentioned," the demonstrator said.

The OLED panel was developed by Samsung SDI Co Ltd of Korea, as were panels on KDDI's au-branded mobile phones. The largest OLED panel that has been supplied from Samsung SDI to KDDI is a 3-inch model, and the highest resolution panel thus far is a 400 x 240 (wide QVGA) product.

KDDI's 3.1-inch 800 x 480 OLED panel

The 3D LCD panel has 800 x 480 resolution (wide VGA). The panel employs the "parallax barrier method" to enable 3D representation. In this method, strip-shaped barriers are arranged on the surface of the LCD panel so that the image is divided into parts that are viewed with the right eye and parts viewed with the left eye. The method can convert 2D images into 3D in real time, the company said.

KDDI's 3D LCD panel

KDDI reportedly developed the new LCD panel in collaboration with a Japanese panel manufacturer. The company "aims to commercialize the panel by the end of 2009," the demonstrator said.